Holy sh*t. The sooner that is consigned to the slag heap of bad bad memories the better. I'm too jaded to go into the details of the game, so I'll just post what I posted on GAAboard.com
......
That was something else. The most embarrassed I have been in a long long time. It really was men against boys for the entire second half, and in truth for parts of the first half as well.
Tactics etc. go out the window when your defenders won't mark tightly, especially against a forward line like the Cats. When big men play 'small', i.e. the Hannify's Joe Brady and Ger Oakley never hit one Kilkenny man a hard shoulder.
And finally, when you are off the pace, and Kilkenny hit a roll like that, then goodnight Irene.
Imagine that but for Damien Fitzhenry last year, Offaly would have been defending Leinster champions going into that game!
We really have got a huge psychological burden about Kilkenny now. True we are now way off the pace required to even think about bringing Liam back to Birr, but no other county in Ireland would give Offaly a 31 point mauling. I don't expect Clare or Waterford to do that to us, and both of those teams would expect to give Kilkenny a right rattle.
Today is a day for reflection, and gathering ourselves. Recriminations are pointless, and would probably be wide of the mark. This bunch of Offaly players need support from us more than anything, so roll on the qualifiers, and
Up the FAITHFUL.
Rhapsody in Black and Amber
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Lone Shark
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Hard to know where to begin to analyse a game like that.
The truth is that a few little things went wrong - and Kilkenny instead of seeping enough water into the cracks to do the job, they inserted dynamite so it was all blown to pieces.
Henry was in utterly masterful form - that's a given. However our corner backs attempts at marking him yesterday were woeful to say the least, and while he probably was in truth unmarkable, we still handed him too many easy scores.
There definitely is a trend in this team of wanting to avoid physical play. That's not to say that they are frail, or cowardly or anything of the sort, but it's just not in their nature to hurl aggressively. The instinct to hit for the sake of hitting, to mark your territory or unsettle your opponent is just not there.
Again though, more than anything you have to worry about psychological damage. How in God's name do you come back from that? As supporters we'll follow them wherever they're playing because that's what we do, but even so, it's only natural to expect nothing. Bad and all as that is when we're feeling it, players just can't go out with that attitude, or they'll get creamed again. But how do we stop it? I'm out of ideas to be honest......
The truth is that a few little things went wrong - and Kilkenny instead of seeping enough water into the cracks to do the job, they inserted dynamite so it was all blown to pieces.
Henry was in utterly masterful form - that's a given. However our corner backs attempts at marking him yesterday were woeful to say the least, and while he probably was in truth unmarkable, we still handed him too many easy scores.
There definitely is a trend in this team of wanting to avoid physical play. That's not to say that they are frail, or cowardly or anything of the sort, but it's just not in their nature to hurl aggressively. The instinct to hit for the sake of hitting, to mark your territory or unsettle your opponent is just not there.
Again though, more than anything you have to worry about psychological damage. How in God's name do you come back from that? As supporters we'll follow them wherever they're playing because that's what we do, but even so, it's only natural to expect nothing. Bad and all as that is when we're feeling it, players just can't go out with that attitude, or they'll get creamed again. But how do we stop it? I'm out of ideas to be honest......
I think the way forward, for a psychological point of view is to
a) Accept the defeat. Have a chat at training on Tuesday and talk about the defeat, and the performance.
b) Set a marker in the sand that this is Rock Bottom. Everything from here on is about making progress.
c) Set acheivable, short term goals to get the players focussed again on upcoming tasks.
a) Accept the defeat. Have a chat at training on Tuesday and talk about the defeat, and the performance.
b) Set a marker in the sand that this is Rock Bottom. Everything from here on is about making progress.
c) Set acheivable, short term goals to get the players focussed again on upcoming tasks.
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Bord na Mona man
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Where do you begin?
It was far worse than I had dared to imagine.
Unbelievable.
Heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
Where do we go from here?
How do we get the spirit and fight back into Offaly hurling?
It's so sad to see the legacy of the great men of the 80s squandered so tamely.
These were the men who battled till they dropped and made everything that followed possible.
It seems so far away now.
It was far worse than I had dared to imagine.
Unbelievable.
Heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
Where do we go from here?
How do we get the spirit and fight back into Offaly hurling?
It's so sad to see the legacy of the great men of the 80s squandered so tamely.
These were the men who battled till they dropped and made everything that followed possible.
It seems so far away now.
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Wannabe Deise
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Re: Matches
hi all,azoffaly wrote:What's the story with the fixtures? Are both hurlers and footballers playing next Saturday?
wellboy from upthedeise.com here, condolences on the result yesterday... those fuppin cats need to be neutered!!!
LOL
seriously though, looking forward to next saturday, i guarantee it will be a much closer affair and Waterford won't take anything for granted...
Chins up!
WB
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Lone Shark
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Fixtures
We'll know later today.
In theory we're at home to Waterford, but I'd say with Birr having a capacity of 5,200, and Carlow being coincidentally halfway between the two, a double header in Dr. Cullen looks very possible.
In theory we're at home to Waterford, but I'd say with Birr having a capacity of 5,200, and Carlow being coincidentally halfway between the two, a double header in Dr. Cullen looks very possible.
Should I see a shrink? 
I had been thinking that too LS and with Tullamore out of action too it looks even more likely. Personally I would prefer to see the game postponed till at least the week after. How are they going to raise themselves up in just 6 days after a drubbing like that? Before yesterday I would've said that we had a decent chance in this group but after that mauling, and playing teams who have had a few weeks to prepare.....
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Lone Shark
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Bearing in mind how a twenty point defeat would be "much closer", you'll understand how we're still a little wary.wellboy wrote:seriously though, looking forward to next saturday, i guarantee it will be a much closer affair and Waterford won't take anything for granted...
Seriously, you're very welcome on board, but I think for most of us this morning we're beyond consolation. A few lads said to me yesterday that "well at least we've hit rock bottom, the only way is up?"
But why is it? I'm looking for something tangible to show me that this decline isn't going to continue at the same rate and in five years time we won't be in the Christy Ring Cup and unable to reach the knockout stages of even that. I'm struggling to see a reason.
Reasons why this is rock bottom. and we won't do a 'Dublin'.
1) The hurlers are there. Nice hurlers like Murray, Rory, Cordial, Murphy, Cassidy, etc.
2) The county board. Offaly will not neglect hurling. The County Board will not allow the game to die.
3) The hurling heartland. Despite hurling being corralled into a 15 mile radius of Birr, it is a vital part of life there. The hurling men from Birr, Shinrone, Rynaghs, Kinnity etc. will keep the faith.
It's hard to be optimistic after yesterday, (even I am having trouble), but lets not get too down. I know we look light years behind Kilkenny, but my main area of concern is not around the hurlers, it's around the mentality. To me, it looked like the game was over after the 3rd goal. Heads dropped all over the pitch. Losing to Kilkenny is ingrained in this bunch, and until we stand up physically, and mentally to them we will never beat them.
Men like Gary and Rory Hanniffy, Joe Brady and Ger Oakley are as big and as strong as any of the Cats. The difference is the Cats use their spine of the team as a battering ram, and let the silky skills up front punish you. We need to do the same. It's a mental thing.
However, as I say, the hurling and the appetite to win within the county is there. Get the mentalilty right and we'll be back.
What's Tony Quinn at these days??
1) The hurlers are there. Nice hurlers like Murray, Rory, Cordial, Murphy, Cassidy, etc.
2) The county board. Offaly will not neglect hurling. The County Board will not allow the game to die.
3) The hurling heartland. Despite hurling being corralled into a 15 mile radius of Birr, it is a vital part of life there. The hurling men from Birr, Shinrone, Rynaghs, Kinnity etc. will keep the faith.
It's hard to be optimistic after yesterday, (even I am having trouble), but lets not get too down. I know we look light years behind Kilkenny, but my main area of concern is not around the hurlers, it's around the mentality. To me, it looked like the game was over after the 3rd goal. Heads dropped all over the pitch. Losing to Kilkenny is ingrained in this bunch, and until we stand up physically, and mentally to them we will never beat them.
Men like Gary and Rory Hanniffy, Joe Brady and Ger Oakley are as big and as strong as any of the Cats. The difference is the Cats use their spine of the team as a battering ram, and let the silky skills up front punish you. We need to do the same. It's a mental thing.
However, as I say, the hurling and the appetite to win within the county is there. Get the mentalilty right and we'll be back.
What's Tony Quinn at these days??
AZ,
1) The hurlers may be there but do we really have enough of them?
2) Have the County Board not already neglected both Hurling and Football in the last 10 years by failing to invest in youth programmes etc. when other counties were waking up to the realities? Remember that the sucesses of the 90's team was built on a strong underage teams, we are not competing at this level now either. Duignan even mentioned this as a problem last night.
3) Yes there is a strong Hurling presence in the Birr area (so I'm told anyway, being form the football end myself!) So too are there hurling strong holds in Kerry and Westmeath, and football strongholds in Wicklow. This in itself while it is a positive is not enough to have a sucessful county team. Were there not hurling strong-holds in the "bad old days" too?
KK really have raised the bar when it comes to their professional like attitude to games. Lets hopw that this is indeed rock bottom for Offaly Hurling.
1) The hurlers may be there but do we really have enough of them?
2) Have the County Board not already neglected both Hurling and Football in the last 10 years by failing to invest in youth programmes etc. when other counties were waking up to the realities? Remember that the sucesses of the 90's team was built on a strong underage teams, we are not competing at this level now either. Duignan even mentioned this as a problem last night.
3) Yes there is a strong Hurling presence in the Birr area (so I'm told anyway, being form the football end myself!) So too are there hurling strong holds in Kerry and Westmeath, and football strongholds in Wicklow. This in itself while it is a positive is not enough to have a sucessful county team. Were there not hurling strong-holds in the "bad old days" too?
KK really have raised the bar when it comes to their professional like attitude to games. Lets hopw that this is indeed rock bottom for Offaly Hurling.